Chap. L] 



LEOPAKDS. 



31 



" The predicament was not a pleasant one. I had no 

 weapon of defence, and with one spring or blow of his 

 paw the beast could have annihilated me. To move I 

 knew would only encourage his attack. It occurred to 

 me at the moment that I had heard of the power of 

 man's eye over wild animals, and accordingly I fixed 

 my gaze as intently as the agitation of such a moment 

 enabled me on his eyes : we stared at each other for 

 some seconds, when, to my inexpressible joy, the beast 

 turned and bounded down the straight open path before 

 me. This scene occurred just at that period of the 

 morning when the grazing animals retired from the open 

 patena to the cool shade of the forest : doubtless, the 

 leopard had taken my approach for that of a deer, or 

 some such animal. And if his spring had been at a 

 quadruped instead of a biped, his distance was so well 

 measured, that it must have landed him on the neck of 

 a deer, an elk, or a buffalo ; as it was, one pace more 

 would have done for me. A bear would not have let 

 his victim off so easily." 



Notwithstanding the unequalled agility of the mon- 

 key, it falls a prey, and not unfrequently, to the teo- 

 pard. The latter, on approaching a tree on which a 

 troop of monkeys have taken shelter, causes an instant 

 and fearful excitement, which they manifest by loud 

 and continued screams, and incessant restless leaps from 

 branch to branch. The leopard meanwhile walks round 

 and round the tree, with his eyes firmly fixed upon his 

 victims, till at last exhausted by terror, and prostrated 

 by vain exertions to escape, one or more falls a prey to 

 his voracity. So rivetted is the attention of both during 

 the struggle, that a sportsman, on one occasion, attracted 

 by the noise, was enabled to approach within an un- 



